Lee Moyer is a polymath and illustrator who has been working for over 35 years. He has worked with book publishers, theaters, and game developers among many other things. In this episode, we talk about a lot of topics including learning from others, how to handle criticism and information overload, and his Kickstarter project The Doom that Came to Atlantic City.

Here are three things you can learn from Lee:

How to become a better artist

Lee is a big believer in learning from those who came before you. He never had a traditional art education and doesn’t think it is necessary to become a great artist.

In order to become a better artist, he studied under other artists and absorbed their knowledge. This allowed him to learn under the best and the brightest instead of going into debt by going to art school.

He is also a big believer in joining forums and learning from artists on the internet. These avenues make it easier than ever to become a better, more refined artist.

The importance of criticism

Lee believes criticism is an important part of becoming a better artist. Instead of letting criticism get to you, learn from what others are trying to tell you.

People who critique your work are using their own time and energy to give you constructive feedback. Listen to what they they have to say and instead of taking it personally. If people didn’t like you, they wouldn’t bother to critique you.

Dealing with impostor syndrome

Everyone must deal with impostor syndrome. Even the late, great B.B. King was not immune from it. In order to overcome your feeling of not being good enough, you have to know and believe your work will turn out well.

Even when you feel like nothing is coming together, you have to work through it. You need to be stubborn enough to work through the lulls in order to create something great. Just keep working and you will be fine.

Shownotes

started career young, never went to college, has been working for over 35 years

learned to do all his art without the use of technology

works with book publishers, theaters, game design and Kickstarter, docent at the Smithsonian, worked with game developers, Hasboro, Electronic Arts

when you can’t do something yourself, you should bring on other people to help you

for large companies like Electronic Arts, the key is being the best communicator you can be

talk about specs, mood, what you are looking for, and how to get there

you need to be positive, proactive, and keep moving forward

“You gotta do what you gotta do. You’re only as good as your last gig.”

“When you’re working with other people, you have to be aware of the big picture at all times and you need to be able to convey that picture.”

B.B. King and the impostor syndrome

“I developed in my head that I’m never any better than my last concert or the last time I played, so it’s like an audition each time” – B.B. King interview on Fresh Air

being a professional and knowing and believing your work will come out well

there’s nothing as deflating as seeing how bad your old work is, and yet it is also exciting

“Impostor syndrome is a thing, but when you’re deliberately an impostor, when you’re working in these areas that other people have been so brilliant at for so many years, it’s a little hard to not let that pressure get to you.”

“Fear is excitement without the breathing.”

“For me, when I started out, I knew that I was terrible, and any time a job came out well, I knew that I had gotten lucky.”

getting over impostor syndrome and being willing to make mistakes

he is able to overcome it because he is stubborn

didn’t have a backup plan

be stubborn and just keep working

being naive and not knowing what mistakes you’re making

being terrible at Photoshop in the beginning and being drunk with power

“Almost every painting goes through a phase where you just feel like it’s not going to work. It’s not going to come together this time. It’s a failure, and pretty much, you work through it, you’ll be fine.”

whether young artists should go to school or skip it

believes skipping school was the smartest decision he could have made

degree from Rhode Island School of Design being more expensive than Harvard

“I would learn from the best. I would go to illustrators gatherings, I would show my portfolio to everyone in sight. I would listen carefully, in a way that took me a long time to listen because no one ever gave me this advice. Listen carefully for the things that you don’t want to hear.”

“The thing that took me longest to learn is that every time someone looked at a page in my portfolio, and flipped the page quickly, it probably means that piece doesn’t belong in your portfolio. It’s probably not good enough.”

“By getting out into the world, we can meet our fellow artists, illustrators. We can talk. We can learn.”

“Do the work. Work hard. Pay attention.”

“Everything that we can learn, we can teach ourselves, or we can be open to finding other people who will teach us.”

dealing with criticism

peers in junior high being better artists, but not sticking to it

they let their ego get in the way from hearing they were the best

When you listen to critique, there’s a few crucial things to remember:

if the person didn’t like you, they wouldn’t bother to critique you

if they say things that are harsh or cruel, they aren’t any more harsh than business at large

chances are, they are being helpful and constructive, which takes their time and energy

realize that people are taking the time and energy to help you out

being mentor to illustrators in Portland and helping them grow

dealing with information overload and selecting what to use in his work

grew up believing the most polished work was the best work

in digital age, polish is easy

finding the right group of people who are inspired by the same things

knowing what you like and don’t like

it all comes down to personal taste

didn’t have a signature for a long time

having a couple recognize his signature at San Diego Comic Con and not knowing why they recognized it

“If you are working digitally, work with some rougher tools. Let some happy accidents accrue, and you and your work will be the better for it.”

“Figure out what you want to do. Do it really well and figure out how to tell people you do it really well.”

“It’s all well and good for me to be able to do the work, but it’s important that people know that I do the work… and there’s a lot involved in that.”

“I never know where inspiration will come from. Creativity, I like to think I have already, and it’s just a question of priming, and using it, and encouraging it.”

definition of creativity

had his brain scanned, because he’s never done it, it gives a fascinating read out, and gives him new understanding

helps understand his workflow and why he craves order

you should do new things all the time

“I think that creativity is freedom. I think that we all get trapped in convention… Creativity comes from letting go of but these are just the things we do. And the more we free ourselves of the strictures of what is done, what is known. The more we experience, the more we allow our curiosity to take hold, the better.”

1. The Morgue – these icons represent large photos I have taken and use as reference:

2. The Virtual Bookshelf. Most of these artists are otherwise not represented in my vast library (either foreign, too young or, sometimes, the subjects of books too old to have proper reproductions in color).